2018 Award Winners
The recipients of the Attractive Innovation Project award for the year 2018 were celebrated with diplomas and flowers at Hubben in Uppsala Science Park.
Drug abuse prevention in pharmaceuticals and solar cells for new surfaces were among the Attractive Innovation Projects of 2018. Seventeen innovative projects and startups received the award that year, and here, a selection of them is presented.
Emplicure – safer, more effective drug delivery with less risk of abuse. Emplicure has developed a ceramic-based transdermal patch to combat chronic pain, in cooperation with Håkan Engqvist at the Department of Engineering Sciences. By gradually releasing strong opioids under the skin, the company’s treatment is not only safer and less painful for patients, it also reduces the risk of drug abuse via smoking or oral intake.
Peafowl Plasmonics (previously Peafowl Solar Power) – novel solar cell technology for new applications. The company has developed a very thin, transparent and cost-effective solar cell. Its key competitive advantage, however, is that the technology allows coating surfaces with solar cells without altering their appearance, thus opening up a vast array of new applications. Jacinto Sá, working at the Department of Chemistry – Ångström is co-founder of the company.
Cartana – provides a new way to sequence genes directly in tissues. The technique provides information on both the type and function of individual brain cells as well as their location in relation to each other. Several of the people behind Cartana, including Malte Kühnemund and Mats Nilsson, have previously worked as researchers at Uppsala University. In 2020, Cartana was aquired by American biotech company 10x Genomics.
Deep Forestry – sensor systems accurately map forest resources. The company has developed powerful sensor systems for building 3D models of forest stocks to help generate volume calculations and highly accurate maps with georeferences. The company’s prototype drone can navigate under the tree canopy in commercial forest plantations. The company's co-founder and CEO, Levi Farrand, is a former student at the Department of Earth Sciences.
Oncodia – the company has streamlined the clinical analysis process from DNA sequence data to cancer-specific mutation report and integrated it into a single, quality-managed solution. This will help facilitate the choice of treatment, provide better quality care and reduce costs to society. Oncodia was founded by Tobias Sjöblom, Ivaylo Stoimenov and Tom Adlerteg, at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology.
Sence Research – improved post-market follow-up on new drugs. Sence Research’s statistical modelling analyses drug benefits, side effects and cost-effectiveness using data from records, thus creating an important decision base for authorities and industry. Thomas Cars, at the Department of Medical Sciences, has developed the method.
Soccermatics' digital expert David the bot, an algorithm created by David Sumpter at the Department of Mathematics, uses statistics and machine learning to analyze real-time games. Intended to make football more fun and engaging to watch, David also assists professional football clubs understand matches.